Paris has waited a century for the Olympic Video games to return; it might take that lengthy for rugby to witness one other participant like Antoine Dupont too.
France’s chief orchestrator has all of it: imaginative and prescient, pin-point ambidextrous kicking, velocity of execution, evasive runs and a harmful physique, all of which have helped him dictate matches at will for membership and nation.
He captained Les Bleus to their first Six Nations title in additional than a decade in 2022, the yr after being named the world’s finest males’s participant, and habitually leads his long-term membership aspect Toulouse to nationwide and continental success.
So on the Stade de France on day one of many Video games, if all goes to plan within the qualifying rounds and barring any misfortune, the mercurial scrum-half will attempt to add Olympic gold to what’s already a well-stocked trophy cupboard. Males’s sevens has even been moved ahead within the schedules in a bid to present the hosts a golden lift-off. No strain then.
It’s an bold short-term change that, if profitable, will definitively set him other than his modern friends.
When he first introduced his Olympic ambitions, simply weeks had handed since France’s untimely exit from the 2023 World Cup on residence soil, dropping to eventual champions South Africa by a solitary level within the quarter-finals.
Dupont, who was the face of a match through which the hosts had been broadly tipped to lastly win their maiden title, had been rushed again from a cheekbone fracture sustained within the group stage. 9 months on, he’s again on the Stade de France for redemption.
“What I like is placing myself at risk, making an attempt a brand new expertise with an immense goal,” he instructed Bros Tales a couple of weeks later. “The truth that it’s in Paris makes it even higher, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime alternative.”
Even by his personal lofty requirements, the difference to sevens has been startlingly seamless. After a handful of coaching classes, he helped the crew take bronze within the Vancouver leg of the World SVNS Sequence in February, earlier than successful the Los Angeles leg every week later. It was Les Bleus’ first match win because the 2005 Paris occasion.
He returned to the Ssevens setup on the finish of Might (successful his second continental title with Toulouse within the meantime) for the collection finals in Madrid, through which France received their first-ever year-end title. Dupont proved decisive – notably scoring a match-saving solo attempt in opposition to Nice Britain, simply as France had been heading for an early exit.
“Sevens hasn’t picked Dupont, it’s Dupont who’s choosing up sevens”, explains Thierry Janeczek, who coached France between 1996 and 2010. A former XVs worldwide, Janeczek was launched to sevens when he was known as as much as the Barbarians crew to play in Hong Kong in 1986. He was immediately received over.
“It’s a sport that was made for me, I may push myself and use the agility and expertise I’d acquired from different sports activities. I wasn’t as fascinated with bodily confrontation – my robust level was working into large open areas.” Within the following many years, he went on to spearhead its growth throughout numerous roles inside French rugby.
Janeczek is happy to see the “spectacular” match given a privileged platform because the Olympic curtain-raiser. “It’s quicker, simpler to know, and fewer ‘mysterious’ than XVs for many who don’t comply with rugby”. He explains that the Toulouse man was already displaying an curiosity within the abridged format when he was a part of the nationwide youth set-up.” It made sense that he would slot in Sevens, and he had the need to come back. Immediately, he was as much as the duty.”
It must be mentioned that the French crew is way from a one-man present. Head coach Jérôme Daret also can rely on the likes of prolific wingers Stephen Parez and Nelson Epée, in addition to captain Paulin Riva, to offer a high-quality supporting forged for Dupont.
Les Bleus received’t have a simple begin, having been drawn in Group C alongside double gold medallists Fiji – however Janeczek is assured: “They’re aiming to win the competitors, I’d say we now have excessive hopes.” Having a participant who, at simply 27, is already being thought-about among the many sport’s all-time greats does assist in that regard.”
Past the pitch, Dupont just isn’t afraid to place his excessive profile to make use of – again in June, he was the duvet star of Têtu, the principle LGBTQ+ journal in France, to talk out in opposition to homophobia in rugby.
Final yr, he criticised far-right journal Valeurs Actuelles for co-opting rugby’s picture for political functions. The publicity that comes with fronting France’s sevens title tilt might be nothing out of the odd.
The hope for the organisers is that Dupont and his teammates will get the fortnight began on a excessive for the hosts, and ignite native fervour for the Video games.
